


Ghosting

by Westpass



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-08-17 11:46:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16515845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Westpass/pseuds/Westpass
Summary: Something wicked this way comes...





	1. Chapter 1

Clint stormed into the Compound's kitchen, his expression furious. "Where the hell is Stark?"

The other Avengers present--Steve Rogers, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Scott Lang--were sitting at the table. The smells of frying bacon and coffee filled the room as Scott flipped a pancake off the griddle onto his plate. He turned to look at Clint, frowning. 

"What crawled up your back? Stark's out of town. He had that SI conference in Tokyo. He and Miss Potts left yesterday."  


"Yeah, well, that asshole's not--"

"Clint, that's _enough!_ " Lang snapped. He jerked his head toward the group at the table.

Only then did Clint notice the little girl sitting between Cap and Jones, staring at him... She looked nervous. 

_Shit._ She was only a little older than Lila, he thought, his stomach twisting.

"I'm sorry. "

"This is my daughter, Cassie." Scott came over with a plate, setting it in front of her. Clint didn't miss how he kept himself between her and Clint. "Cassie, this is Hawkeye...who's usually not a morning person, but he doesn't yell most of the time."

Clint took a deep breath; gave her a genuinely apologetic look.

"Bad night?" asked Jones, sounding unimpressed.

"You could put it that way." He kept his voice mild. "No--I can't eat," seeing Steve open his mouth. "Can I see you for a minute?"

Steve nodded and followed him out to the hallway. "What's going on?"

"I can't feel my hands."

" _What?_ "

"I thought it was something Stark did. I know, he's been really trying, but this started right after he gave me my new gear--Maybe just it was his idea of a prank, I thought. Only it's not wearing off." Clint turned his hands over. The skin looked pink, and intact, but they were so cold, and ..."I can't even wiggle my fingers. If I wasn't looking, I couldn't even know they were still there."

"Right, we're going to Medical," Steve said flatly. "FRIDAY, page Dr. Cho, please. "

He went ahead of Clint, shoving doors open. Cho was waiting for them when they reached the infirmary. She asked a barrage of questions, then ordered an immediate x-ray for him.

"The circulation to your hands seems normal. How long has it been since you first noticed this?"

"Last night. I was coming back to my room from a practice session with some new arrows and throwing knives Stark made me. I was putting them away and I kept dropping them. Like my hands were freezing. I tried to turn up the heat, but it didn't help..."

Natasha had come into the room halfway through their conversation. Quietly, she said, "Clint, I know you and Tony still have issues, but he wouldn't do that. If for no other reason than that he couldn't be sure you'd be the only person to come into contact with your gear."

Cho laughed mirthlessly. Steve and Natasha glanced at her. 

"You still underestimate him," the doctor commented. "Though I agree with that assessment. If your being disabled was some nefarious plan of Stark's, you wouldn't have had the chance to say anything. People who make an enemy out of him tend to end up very dead."

"So what's going on?"

"That I don't yet know," Cho admitted. "X-rays should be ready in about an hour. Have you noticed any other symptoms? You do appear fatigued. Your blood pressure's elevated." 

"Just bad dreams," Clint said dismissively. "Come with the job."

"Stretch out and rest if you need to." She gestured to a bed across the room.

" _Sleep for a bit, "_ Nat said in Russian. _"I'll be here._ " Her tone was matter-of-fact, but she nudged him in the right direction, clearly not about to take 'no' for an answer.

He sighed, and obeyed. He was so tired...


	2. Chapter 2

"The X-rays showed no signs of fractures or any damage that might account for this," Cho told Nat and Steve. She kept her voice low, as Clint hadn't woken yet. Nat was perched at the foot of his bed, idly toying with one of her own knives. Only that slight fidget showed that she was worried.

" So what do we do next?" 

"I run some blood work, and neurological tests. I'd suggest we don't all crowd over him. It's not helpful and I have the impression he doesn't really care for being mother-henned." 

Taking the hint, Steve left the infirmary (though neither he nor Cho had the temerity to suggest that Nat leave. )

He returned to the kitchen, finding Scott and his daughter still there. He glanced at Jessica Jones. "Could we have the room, please?" 

She didn't even look at him. "Nope. I'm not done with my coffee. What's Barton's problem anyway?" Her lip curled scornfully. 

He bristled at her insolence, but Cage gave him a warning look. Steve quelled the impulse to call her out on it. The new Avengers who'd been brought on board after the "Civil War" were better than average fighters, but the rapport he had with the original group just wasn't there. Well-- With Stark out of town, someone had to take care of business. He supposed that'd be him. Maybe this was a good starting point. 

"That's part of what I needed to discuss with Ant-Man...you helped Iron Man work on upgrades for our gear, right?"

"Yeah. Why?" Lang queried. 

"Clint seemed to think it was a possibility Stark might've tampered with his equipment. A practical joke, maybe, but he's having some trouble." Steve explained what had happened.

Lang shook his head. "I know Tony likes to prank his friends sometime, but he's got better sense than to do anything that'd keep Barton from being able to defend himself. But I can look at his weapons, " he offered. 

"Or, you know, you could _ask_ Stark if there might be a connection," Jones suggested, sneering. "You do know how to use one of those modern phones, Rogers, he's told us that." 

Steve's jaw tightened. He started to take a step toward her. Cage moved between them. "Opposite corners, " the man said firmly. 

"Rough night?" asked Lang. "FRIDAY told us you were out on a missing persons case. " 

Cage nodded. "A kid. May be Enhanced, we're not sure, but she disappeared a couple days ago under...bad circumstances."

"We need to get back out there," Jones said curtly, pushing up onto her feet.

"Jessica, we're both wiped out. We're no good like this." 

Cassie put a hand on Jones' arm. "Dad has today off. So does Mr. Vision. They could help look," she offered. "I'll go too. If she ran away, she might be scared to let strange grownups find her if it's just them."

Jones blinked, and then managed a thin smile. "You've got a smart little cookie here, Scott." Cassie beamed.

Lang knelt and hugged Cassie. "If we find her, maybe you can come help us talk to her, hon," he said. "But you have to call your Mom on Skype soon, remember? No leaving the Compound. That's part of the rules for visits here."

"...I remember." She pouted. 

"We _can_ look, if you have any leads," Lang said more seriously, glancing at Jones. 

Steve shifted impatiently. "First things first?" he prompted. "Clint's--"

Jones gave him the finger. Even Scott's face showed annoyance. "Clint's got help. He's in a safe place. This kid may not."

He accepted the folder Jones held out to him, already starting to read through it. His expression darkened. "...Okay. I'll go round up Vision. You should take a breather, at least a couple hours. If someone snatched her, anyone dealing with them will have to be able to fight." 

"Two or three hours would do it," Jones gave in reluctantly. She let Cage lead her out of the common area. 

"Just a minute!" Steve said, stopping Lang as he began to turn away. 

The other man jerked his arm free. "If you really think the gear is the problem, then you can have FRIDAY run a diagnostic and security scan. That's all I could do, I'm not a doctor. And right now, 'scuse me, I think I'll be more useful elsewhere. Cassie, c'mon. " 

They left.

 

Steve sighed in annoyance. Being helpful to the civilian authorities was one thing, doing their jobs for them was another. 

He'd go look at Clint's quarters, and the training room. Maybe something there would turn up a clue.


	3. Chapter 3

Scott left Cassie in their suite, reminding her not to leave without telling their "neighbors" down the hall (Jessica, being watched over by Cage while she napped.)

Vision was in one of the workrooms that he used as a lab space of sorts. He was peering through a microscope at what appeared to be some kind of plant leaf...though Scott couldn't think of any natural plant that glowed and was beginning to give off smoke. He decided not to ask. If he'd learned one thing from working with the Avengers, it was when not to sweat the really small stuff. 

Vision straightened as Scott approached. "Friday said you were looking for me?" 

Scott explained. The android listened without interrupting. He nodded, and put his work away. His appearance changed, skin color turning to 'passing white' as some of the team called it, and eyes lightening to a natural blue. 

"The child's parents didn't report her missing?" Vision asked as he followed Scott out of the Compound. 

"Her mom's not in the picture, dad is in hospital. He's been unconscious for about a week. _Someone_ called 911 to his house, the EMTs found him, but no sign of the kid--her name's Rose," Scott corrected himself. "It took a day or so before any of his emergency contacts got in touch, so no one realized at first that they _should_ be on the lookout for her; nobody else lived there." 

Vision grimaced faintly. "Failure to communicate, indeed. But, 'possibly Enhanced'?"

"The cops who searched the place had some odd experiences. They were hearing a voice, but couldn't see anyone, and...they blacked out. Found themselves almost a mile down the road with no recollection of how they got there. Medical exam didn't show any signs of physical problems. " 

"I should think a child of that age--seven years? would be able to recognize the police as friendlies."

Scott bit his lip. "You're assuming that that's what her dad told her about cops. The guy's record is clean as far as criminal activity, but...sometimes that just means a person hasn't gotten caught yet."

Vision frowned. "Cynical."

"But true." Scott stopped by his car. It was an old Toyota, in good shape but not expensive-looking nor distinctive. Just as well, they didn't want to go into some of New York's tougher neighborhoods looking like money. "You want to drive?" he offered. 

* * *

The shooting range was dark, and bitterly cold. Steve tapped a panel to bring up the lights. 

A used target had several holes in it, most on or next to bullseye; Clint's work, definitely. He walked over to examine it. 

Nothing in the room seemed out of place. "FRIDAY, can you turn the heat up a few degrees?" he requested

Silence. 

"FRIDAY?" he repeated.

There was a burst of static, then, _"What did you want, Mr. Rogers?"_ the AI asked coolly.

Steve's eyes narrowed. "I asked you to raise the temperature in here. Please," he added. Was the AI being obstinate, or was this some kind of glitch? She'd been less than friendly at times, since they returned from Wakanda, but he hadn't thought her programming allowed her to disobey a direct order. Maybe he needed to have a word with Stark. He made a mental note for later, and resumed his search of the room. 

A faint sound caught his attention. He turned, looking for the source. It sounded like...someone crying? But he couldn't see anybody. 

"Hello?" he called. "Is someone here? Please come out." 


	4. Chapter 4

They'd gone to the hospital first, but couldn't gain admittance to David Myers' room. Only family or designated proxies were allowed to visit him...  
Or law enforcement personnel.  
Scott felt rather stupid when Vision pointed out that that did include them. He couldn't get used to being 'the authorities', somehow.  
Showing the nurses their Avengers ID got them a meeting with the man's doctor. The MD was more cooperative to sharing information when Scott explained _why_ they were asking. 

"Neither Mr. Myers nor his daughter have any records of undergoing genetic tests for the Inhuman gene, or of having any symptoms that might imply Enhanced condition," the woman told them. 

Scott eyed the fairly thick chart book she'd produced. "How often was he in here? Frequently?" 

"Hm. No. His last visit was a month ago...his daughter's was about the same time. He brought her in for emergency treatment after a home invasion."

"Robbery?" 

The doctor hesitated. 

Scott met her gaze. "Doc. I'm an ex-con. I'm not going to judge the guy if he, I don't know, got scammed or trusted the wrong person. It's not my job to deal with that anyway. I'm here because we need to make sure that little girl is safe. If someone had it in for them, whatever the reason, that might be important." 

She regarded him, faint surprise and then relief in her eyes. "I haven't had any reason to believe David had ever or would ever hurt Rose," she said bluntly. "He adores her. But the last time they came here for treatment, _he_ had injuries that were _not_ consistent with a fall. More like he'd been in a fight. "

"Did he call the cops?"

"I don't think so."

"We'll check with them...Do you have a work address for Mr. Myers?"

As they left, Vision let his 'disguise' slip. There were a few surprised looks and furtive snapping of photos from people nearby, but nothing else... Until Scott glimpsed a man across the room glaring at the android. His lips moved. _..."unnatural,"_ Scott read. Vision raised an eyebrow. The man looked away, his face still dark with anger. 

Vision sighed, before turning away. 

"Someone you know?" Scott asked softly. 

"Not by direct acquaintance. He's a member of a religious organization called the Purity Church. They...have some reservations about individuals whose genes or abilities aren't baseline-normal, or that have been altered." 

"...do you even _have_ genes? And you are baseline."

"Yes...and I hardly think so," Vision disagreed, puzzled. 

"Well, no offense, but you'd be wrong."

* * *

Clint's phone began to ring.

He stirred, but didn't open his eyes. Nat hastily snatched the phone from the bedside table. She was about to switch it off when she recognized the number shown on the display.  
Laura. Instead, she hit the 'Answer' button and put the phone to her ear.

"Laura, it's Nat..."

_"Nat? Where's Clint?"_

"He's not feeling well. I didn't want to wake him...Is everything okay?"

 _"...None of that answers the question I just asked you, Nat._ " 

Considering that the last time she'd heard Laura sound like that was almost eight years ago, and had involved Budapest, random and not so random explosions, and a sixteen-foot-long snake, Nat didn't want to be the one on the receiving end of Laura's wrath. "He's been feeling ill. He's at the Compound's Infirmary now, I was watching him--Hold on. I think he's waking up--"

Clint screamed. 

His eyes were open, but he was staring into space, his expression terrified. He screamed again, arms up as if trying to ward off a blow. 

"Clint!" Nat dropped the phone, reaching for him. "Wake up! You're at the Infirmary. I'm here. You're safe. Wake up," she repeated. 

His hands were so cold they burned when she touched him. She jerked away reflexively. 

The heart monitor attached to him began to beep loudly. A shower of sparks burst from the display panel, and it went black...

Clint fell back onto the pillows, going silent. His chest rose and fell... but barely.

Cho appeared in the doorway, sharply signaling Nat to move. She backed up. 

Retrieving the phone, she took a deep breath. "Laura, I think we need you here," was all she could manage to say. 


	5. Chapter 5

The voice Steve had heard grew louder.  
She--he thought it was a girl's voice--stopped crying.  
She screamed instead. _"No! No more knives! No no no!"_

The room went dark. He heard the sound of glass breaking overhead, as the lighting panels shattered.

Razor-sharp fragments hurled everywhere. He ducked, covering his head and the back of his neck. He hadn't brought his shield with him. _Damn it!_

" _Don't hurt my daddy! Don't--_ " 

The noise cut off as suddenly as it had started. 

"What's--Steve! Are you hurt?" 

Laura Barton stood in the doorway, light from the hall illuminating her face. "What's going on? I was looking for Clint, or Nat--FRIDAY said I should talk to you first, something about security protocols for outsiders at the Compound..."

He shoved himself up onto his knees, then his feet. "I don't know..."

"Start at the beginning. Where is my husband?"

Steve walked with her down to the Medical floor, explaining as best he could. Laura frowned, but took his account at face value. "Hallucinations, sensory loss...Magic?" she suggested hesitantly. "If there's no obvious physical cause..."

He rubbed at his temples. "Maybe. Anything's possible, we've seen weirder...but why?" 

* * *

The cops hadn't had any records of complaints made by (or about) David Myers. His employer at a local restaurant described him as 'so wholesome it was almost sickening', a man who worked hard, loved his only child, and never started trouble... "Though he didn't take any crap from people," the restaurant owner said. "One time this group--whatstheirnames, yeah, Puritans or whatever, were hassling one of the servers, a Muslim girl, for wearing her headscarf. David told them to back off. Big, white guy, and he works out...they didn't want to mess with him. 'Speak softly but carry a big stick.'"

"Did Mrs. Myers ever come by?" Scott asked. 

"Mrs.--oh, Rose's mother? No. David and she weren't married. She didn't want kids, he said once, something about genetic problems in her family...she left Rose with him. Took off years ago." 

Scott and Vision glanced at each other. _Oh boy._ Scott had started to put some pieces together, and he didn't at all like the picture he could see. Judging by Vision's scowl, neither did the android.

They went to the Myers' house next. In the car, Vision asked, "I'm still unclear as to what you meant earlier..."

"Well, 'baseline' means the typical state of an organism in good health, yes? Or of a species. There's only one of you in existence, so 'normal' for...synthroids? Is whatever your normal state is," Scott pointed out. "No, you're not typical of a 'homo sapiens', but saying you're 'unnatural' because of that doesn't make sense. It's like saying a cat is unnatural because it purrs instead of yelling." 

That provoked a laugh from Vision, but his expression was also thoughtful. He nodded as he mulled this over. "I don't...always feel that I belong with humans. Yet."

" 'Yet' is the key word there. Dude, even humans feel disconnected from each other sometimes. You _do_ belong with the Avengers," Scott replied firmly.

"Thank you," softly. 

Okay, enough chick-flick moments. They got back to business. 

Vision parked in the Myers' driveway. He paused, and said very quietly, "Ant-Man."

Scott's head jerked up sharply. "Trouble?" 

"There are multiple heat signatures. People, hiding behind the fence and Mr. Myers' truck. I can detect chemicals and electronic signals that suggest they're armed."

"And not NYPD. They wouldn't hide. Right...How many, can you tell?"

"Seven. They're moving into position to try to surround us."

"Only seven?" Ant-Man grinned. "Let's do this."


	6. Chapter 6

"Who was it that killed seven giants at one blow?"

"That was a tailor, named Jack. And it was flies, not giants. That's an old fairy tale."

"Oh right. Cassie used to love those. And the Just So stories. Heyyy, I'm a giant! Watch out for tailors?"

Vision looked around at the unconscious, or dazed Watchdogs, and smiled a little. "I don't think any of them are even up to swatting flies," he said.

Scott's faintly goofy expression didn't change. He followed Vision's gaze. "Nah, prob'ly not. Overkill? But if they hurt that kid...they had it coming."

He shrunk back to normal size. 

"You didn't injure any of them seriously. Your control's gotten better," Vision noted approvingly. 

Three men sat or were sprawled in the Myers' driveway. The rest had fled when confronted by a twenty-foot-tall, annoyed Ant-Man and Infinity Stone powered Vision. Bigoted, stupid, maybe criminals, check. Sadly, not _that_ stupid. 

"Like Stark and Rhodes point out, not everyone is as indestructible as you or Rogers. Nat's shown me some fighting methods that're a bit less over the top." 

Scott walked over to one of the men. His smile vanished as he fisted both hands in the man's shirt, jerking him to his feet.

The group had attacked without any warning, as soon as they'd been within reach of the two men. Having a bulletproof teammate had _definitely_ come in handy at that point. 

"What do you think you're doing here?" 

"Put me down!" the man snarled. His breath stank of alcohol, face turning red and blotchy. 

 

Scott didn't flinch, or let go. "You're trespassing. You just tried to shoot two people without any provocation. You can start talking or we'll feed you to NYPD. Guys who hurt children have a real short life expectancy in prison, asshole. "

"People? That _freak?_ " He sputtered, waving at Vision. "Ha!" 

"Where's. Rose. Myers?" Scott shook him, like a terrier with a rat. 

"I don't know! She just...we tried to grab her, and she just vanished--like that bitch mother of hers--only _she_ didn't come back--"

Scott punched him. Hard. 

Blood began to pour from the man's nose. 

"What the fuck did you do?" Lang's voice iced over. 

A soft, golden light filled the area. Vision glanced behind them to see something--a wormhole? Portal? appear. A dark-haired man wearing a dark tunic and trousers, a red cape over his shoulders, walked through it.

"A moment of your time?" the newcomer requested coolly as he took in the scene.

* * *

Well.  
As people would say, "there's good news and bad news."

Good news: Clint was no longer hallucinating or at risk of hurting himself, Laura and Steve discovered when they reached Medical.

Bad news: Natasha and Dr. Cho were _also_ doing an imitation of "Rip Van Winkle", both sprawled on the floor. Neither had visible injuries, but they couldn't be woken up.  
FRIDAY was undamaged, but she reported that some kind of EMP-effect had fried the gadgets in the treatment room. She couldn't get any reads on their vitals or condition.  
Steve was done with this. He scooped up Clint first, toting him to a bed in another room and laying him down. Laura picked up Cho before he could reach her, giving him a wary look. "They're not potato sacks, you realize. " She lifted the woman bridal-style, carrying her out of the room.

"...she feels like she's freezing. " Laura set the doctor on a gurney and went in search of heated blankets. 

"What the hell happened here?" Jessica Jones, Cassie and Luke Cage entered the room. 

"Language," Steve said automatically. 

Even Cassie sighed, unable to keep from rolling her eyes. "Mr. Rogers..." 

 

_"...Mommy? Please, where are you? Why can't I see_?" 

Their heads jerked up. Everyone looked around, but the speaker was still nowhere to be seen.


	7. Chapter 7

Laura straightened up, moving away from the gurney where they'd placed Natasha. 

"Who are you?" she called, a little sternly. 

_"Rosie...Rose Myers..."_

"Can you come out where we can see you?" 

" _The old man...the one with the knives. He was so mad... I wanted him to stop yelling. Everyone's so mean._ "

Laura's face hardened. "No one here will hurt you. " The look she gave the unconscious (and conscious) Avengers was distinctly unimpressed. 

"Should we get Wanda back here?" Steve said in a low voice. "She's our expert on magic or psi abilities...

"And yet somehow I don't think sending her to cope with a frightened child is the best idea," Laura said tightly. "She's better at inspiring fear than easing it, if I recall. Rose?" more gently. "What's your mother's name?" 

Silence. 

"Her mother's name was Kelly." 

Laura stopped; gave Jessica a dismayed look. "Was?" she whispered, stricken.

The PI just nodded. 

Cassie swallowed hard, her eyes bright. "That's not fair."

"No, sweetie, it isn't," Cage agreed sadly. "But all we can do now is try and take care of the people still with us." 

"Rose?" Cassie looked up at the ceiling. "Please come out. "

The silence continued, though the cold dissipated...

* * *

Strange--Stephen Strange, as he'd introduced himself---gave the 'churchgoers' a disgusted look. "Typical 'fear of the Other'. I've been hearing rumors from some other Enhanced individuals in New York about these Purifiers targeting members of gifted families." 

"Why is this the first we're hearing of it?" Scott wanted to know.

"Did you ask?" 

Ouch. 

"These aren't people who want to be 'heroes', " and they could hear the air quotes, "just live normal good lives with their families. Most of them don't _have_ abilities that have any use in combat. So they're easier prey for these morons. But they also don't want to come to the attention of your superiors, some of which have a reputation for not taking 'no' for an answer."

Vision grimaced, but had to concede the man's point. "What brought the Myers to your notice?"

"Kelly Branson--Rose Myers' mother-- had an ability that would fall under the category of 'magic', though it was innate rather than learned. The sorcerers at Kamar-Taj had offered her some instruction in using her gifts safely, but she declined. " Sorrow crossed the man's face briefly. "We value free will. So the matter was dropped. She had a means to contact the nearest Sanctum if she changed her mind at any time. " He took a small crystal out of his pocket. It was charred, and cracks showed along the surface. "The spell died with her. I came to try to find out why, as soon as I was able. So that's my story...care to tell me yours?" 

Vision related the day's events. Strange frowned, interrupting once or twice to ask questions. "She's hidden herself fairly well," the man said. "I can't sense her anywhere in the vicinity--" 

One of the Purifiers twitched. Vision watched him coldly. 

"Don't suppose you can turn them all into cockroaches," Scott muttered. 

"No, they're too big. I _can,_ however, put them somewhere they won't cause any more trouble while we sort this out."

"Please do, then. " Vision watched with a certain relish, as well as 'satiable curiosity, as a glowing circle wrapped around the Purifiers and they disappeared. 

"Maybe this isn't about magic--I think we're the wrong ones to solve this," Scott said slowly. "We need to head back to the Compound." 

"Oh?" Strange raised an eyebrow, but when Lang didn't elaborate, he shrugged. "Lead the way, MacDuff."


	8. Chapter 8

"Rogers, would you stop _pacing?_ " Jessica snarled after the third circuit he made of the room. She put away her cell phone, ending a brief profanity-laden call she'd made to Scott Lang, telling him what had happened at the Compound in his absence. He'd seemed distracted, but then said not to worry, he and Vision would be back shortly--and they'd gotten backup. 

 

"I'm trying to think where the best place to take them is," Steve replied sharply, gesturing toward their unconscious teammates. "If they don't wake up soon, we should get them to a hospital. Something. Not just sit around waiting for more trouble. "

 

Laura stared at him for a long moment. "Okay. I don't know what Dr. Cho's understanding is with the Avengers, but I hold Clint's and Natasha's power of attorney if they're incapacitated, Steve. I don't think you'll be taking them anywhere until we can confirm it's safe to move them. Could _both_ of you save the dick measuring contest ?"   
giving Jessica a quelling look, too. The PI subsided, actually seeming apologetic. 

"That's--"

"Steve, I like you, and I know my husband respects you as well as considers you a friend. But if you make any more of those patronizing remarks about 'inappropriate language', I will make you _wish_ you were in a coma too," Laura said through gritted teeth. She leaned over and touched Clint's neck, then followed suit with Natasha. "Pulses are normal. So is their breathing. "

FRIDAY spoke up, interrupting Steve as he opened his mouth to continue arguing. " _Vision and Mr. Lang are at the front door to the Compound. They've requested temporary visitor access for the other two people with them."_

 

"Who are the 'visitors'? "

 

" _Boss' files identify one of them as Dr. Stephen Strange, a prominent neurologist, and the other as Hope Van Dyne._

 

"Yeah, " Cage said, " you can clear them to enter, too, FRIDAY. I've met Strange a couple times, he's cool, and Hope's got authorization from Tony to access the Compound in case of emergencies. I'd say this qualifies." He added, "And I agree with Mrs. Barton. Save the 'whose is bigger' for another day. "

Jones smirked a little. "We're out of our league if you're in the game, anyhow."

He shrugged, flashing her a grin. 

* * *

"Thank you for coming," Scott said as the door slid open. 

Hope's voice was quiet. "I remember how it feels. And I wasn't a little kid who had people coming at me with knives, on top of that." Her fists clenched for a second before she deliberately opened them. 

She strode ahead of them, down the hall. 

A gust of wind that seemed to come out of nowhere stopped their progress. Hope looked straight up at the ceiling.

A circle of bluish-green light appeared, disappeared, reappeared. 

She shrank down to Wasp size and flew up to check it out. 

" _Are you a fairy?_ " a child's voice whispered. 

Hope chuckled. "Nope, though I used to dream about being one when I was really little. My mom read me stories about them at bedtime..."

 

_"Mommy was going to read 'The Book of Three' next..._ " There was a gulp. " _But she went away. I couldn't go with her..._ "

Hope's heart ached. "Your mom wouldn't have wanted you to do that, Rose. Then your daddy would be alone, too. "

 

" _I didn't know what to do..."_

"It's going to be okay. Not for a long time, but it will. "


End file.
